Man takes plea, 2 years in officer assault case

Charles Jackson lost sight in eye after jail attack

STERLING -- A Sterling man accused of assaulting a Sterling police officer in September pleaded guilty to felony menacing on Wednesday. Charles Jackson, 31, received a sentence of two years in the Department of Corrections, which will run concurrent to a previous sentence he was on parole for when he was arrested.

According to court descriptions and the arrest affidavit, Jackson received charges of resisting arrest and first degree assault of an officer after Sterling Police Sgt. Warren Sica, trying to contain Jackson while he was resisting arrest, dislocated his shoulder falling to the ground.

But the court agreed that had Jackson not had a lengthy criminal record, they likely wouldn't have sought a prison sentence at all. That's because, as Chief 13th District Judge Michael Singer put it, "Probably everyone involved would say, 'I could've handled that better.'"

Public Defender Tom Ward said Jackson went to a trailer home he was renting in Sterling to do repair and maintenance work when he found the tenants had changed the lock. After entering the home, Jackson found animals in the trailer, argued with the tenants and called the Logan County Humane Society, who subsequently called the police once they saw the dispute.

Ward told the court Jackson became angry and that Sica had been cutting him off.

Advertisement

According to the arrest affidavit, he started speaking to Sterling Police Officer Nick Hrycaj once he became frustrated and said he'd call the police department to speak with different officers and a supervisor; Sica then explained that he was the supervisor and that no other officers were available, according to the affidavit.

Video from the police car's dash cam provided to the court showed Hrycaj and Sica attempting to handcuff Jackson, Jackson resisting and all of them falling to the sidewalk, causing Sica to dislocate his left shoulder.

Ward also said that Jackson, who appeared in court wearing an eye patch, had since been assaulted by an inmate while in custody and had since lost the vision in his left eye.

He argued Jackson's two-year sentence, which was stipulated in the agreement, should run concurrent to (or at the same time as) his prior sentence since he'd been engaged in a lawful activity when he was contacted and had lost the vision in his eye as a result of the ordeal. Jackson did have multiple felonies (two vehicle theft-related), he acknowledged, but none were violent.

Brittny Lewton, 13th District Attorney, said the new sentence should run consecutive with (in addition to) his old sentence, and that regardless of intent Sica sustained a serious injury and has been on light duty ever since. Running the sentence concurrent would play down the seriousness of the offense.

"Even if you don't like the officer you get, you don't get to resist," Lewton said.

Jackson asked the judge for a concurrent sentence, saying the incident has been a struggle for his family and that the eye injury would force him to change his career as a truck driver. His wife and daughter were in the courtroom, but didn't speak during the hearing.

Judge Singer agreed that had Jackson not had a lengthy criminal history and had Sica's injury not been so serious, the case could have possibly been taken care of in county or municipal court. But because he did have felonies against him and because Sica's injury was serious, the incident turned into a "pretty serious crime."

Still, he said a concurrent sentence -- with 186 days credit for time served since he was incarcerated -- should be sufficient.

"I'm not terribly excited about it," Singer said. "Generally speaking, he should know to keep your mouth shut. ... Instead he set himself up for a mandatory sentence."

Lewton said after the hearing that she thought the sentence was appropriate, but that it could've been harsher. Ward said that because of Jackson's multiple felonies, he'd face habitual criminal charges had he gone to trial. Had he been found guilty, Jackson would have faced four times the maximum sentence for his initial crimes.

"Why would I take that risk?" Ward said. "You have to weigh the risks and rewards."

RE-1 Valley School District has announced its policy for determining eligibility of children who may receive free and reduced price meals served under the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program.
Full Story